GSO-2011: Andrew Adamatzky
Physarum machines: slime mould solving computational geometry and optimisation problems A Physarum machine is a programmable amorphous biological computer experimentally implemented in the vegetative state of true slime mould Physarum polycephalum. It comprises an amorphous yellowish mass with networks of protoplasmic veins, programmed by spatial configurations of attracting and repelling gradients. I will give an in-depth introduction into laboratory implementation of slime mould computers and outline their application domains. I will also provide detailed instructions on how anyone can carry on experiments with slime mould and develop biological prototypes of amorphous parallel computers without sophisticated laboratory equipment. |